Release schedule

We are not years away from Alpha-2, but also Alpha-2 is not right around the corner... As a project that is visible from the outside during its development, it's important that we execute well during these testing phases; and early on in the project we made- I made some missteps in when we were anticipating coming to certain testing periods. Obviously, I have learned a considerable amount over what it takes to to build these games over the last six years; and we made a promise to the community that we would not give dates again in the future unless we were very certain that we were going to hit those dates, or at least be very close to hitting them. – Steven Sharif

The Ashes of Creation release schedule is subject to change.

Prior to Alpha 2 we will test some more spot-oriented testing with some of the Alpha-1 testers and/or PI leading up to what would eventually become the Alpha-2 launch. – Steven Sharif

Phase	Release	Estimated/Actual date
Pre‑alpha	Alpha-0.	December 15, 2017.
APOC	Ashes of Creation Apocalypse battle royale stress test (NDA).	September 7, 2018.
	Ashes of Creation Apocalypse battle royale stress test (NDA lifted).	October 19, 2018.
	Ashes of Creation Apocalypse battle royale open beta.	December 18, 2018.
	Ashes of Creation Apocalypse battle royale early access.	September 24, 2019.
	Ashes of Creation Apocalypse castle siege mode PI closed testing.	December 19, 2019.
	Ashes of Creation Apocalypse battle royale testing ends.	March 10, 2020.
Alpha	Alpha-1 early preview livestream.	March 27, 2020.
	Alpha-1 limited QA testing (NDA).	May 28, 2020.
	Alpha-1 preview pre-test 1 (NDA).	Dec 18 - Dec 21 2020.
	Alpha-1 preview pre-test 2 (NDA).	Feb 19 - Feb 22 2021.
	Alpha-1 preview intermittent spot testing (NDA).	Mar 19 - Jul 9 2021.
	Alpha-1 preview weekend (no NDA).	July 9 - July 11 2021.
	Alpha-1 (no NDA).	July 14 - August 15 2021.
	Alpha-2 spot testing.	To be announced.
	Alpha-2 (No NDA).	To be announced.
Beta	Beta-1.	To be announced.
	Beta-2.	To be announced.
Pre‑release	Head start for crowdfunding backers at the Founder level and above.	1-2 days before launch.
Release	Launch (live) release.	To be announced.
Post‑launch	Major releases (DLC expansions).	Quarterly or six-monthly.
	Minor releases.	Monthly.

Testing phases

Alpha and beta key concept art.

Ashes of Creation testing phases.

• Alpha-0 was the invite-only "raffle" friends and family alpha test phase.
• Alpha-1, Alpha-2, Beta-1, and Beta-2 were available for purchase during the Kickstarter and Summer crowdfunding campaigns.
• Alpha-1 was available in the Intrepid pre-order pack and the Adventurer pre-order pack.
• Alpha-2 and Beta-2 were available during PAX West 2017.
• Alpha-2, Beta-1, and Beta-2 are currently available in Pre-order packs on the cosmetic store.

Ashes of Creation's core game systems are expected to be in place at the start of Alpha-2. By the end of Alpha-2, the game is expected to be feature complete, but it will not be content complete until launch.

The game will be feature complete before Beta... Beta really is intended to identify last minute bugs to make sure that everything is ready for launch; it's important that all features are complete by Beta-1. Alpha-2 will not be feature complete at the start of Alpha-2. There are going to be updates that are going to be incorporated as part of the Alpha-2 process and there are going to be additional features that come online that get fleshed out between that time and Beta-1. There's going to be regions of the maps that aren't going to be accessible of course during Alpha-2. – Steven Sharif

• Alpha-2 will last until launch and will run in parallel with Beta-1 and Beta-2.

Alpha-2 is intended to exist up until launch. There's going to be different testing periods that we will be releasing either new content locations or zones or systems that we want to have players focus in on. In those situations, if we're having participation drought because of the length of Alpha-2, we can set them up in a more focused setting. We can even incentivize that. We can offer unique testing to potentially new testers as well. – Steven Sharif

• All servers will be wiped prior to launch.

Ashes of Creation

Ashes of Creation.

Ashes of Creation takes place within a medieval fantasy setting, blending imagination with cutting-edge graphics. We are putting the word massive back into massively multiplayer with unique and novel mechanics that will bring meaning to player action. Ashes of Creation will incorporate the best parts of traditional MMORPGs with innovative sandbox concepts. You will choose your fate at every opportunity. Questlines will open and close based on the interactions of the players with their world, because this is a world where choice is consequential. Monsters will roam and grow in ferocity as civilization disrupts the natural order of things. From the location of towns to the size of cities, you will determine the landscape of your world. It will be unique in culture, ecology, and economy.

Ashes of Creation is an upcoming MMORPG set in a world of high fantasy where player’s choices will shape and define the world around them.

Ashes of Creation is a unique take on the MMO experience. Our world structure is dynamic and built to react to the actions of our players. Cities will rise and fall, their populations based on the history of the world as the players create it. Quests will unlock as these populations gather, their needs grow, and secrets are unlocked. As the world’s NPC structure is established in real time, players will have the ability to destroy what they’ve created, paving the way for new development, new populations, and real change. Political strife and intrigue will play a very real role in the structure of your world. Gone are the days of static worlds, change is here to stay.

• Ashes of Creation is a PvX game built on the foundational principle of risk versus reward.

We will refine systems, we will iterate on systems, but we will never change the core identity of the intent and philosophical approach to what Ashes of Creation as an MMO brings to the MMO genre space... What we want to do is express that Ashes of Creation is endeavoring to build a risk-versus-reward centric PvX style game. And that intent and purpose will be delivered upon, and it will not change. – Steven Sharif

• The original code-name for Ashes of Creation was The World of Origins.

• The developers are hoping for over a million concurrent users at launch.

Alpha-1

Alpha-1 Teaser.

This is a true development alpha. This is not a marketing alpha; and what that means is as you know part of the process here in developing Ashes of Creation is being open with that development so you guys can see that progress; and it is a double-edged sword. There are going to be a spectrum of people that exists who are very involved with the game's development and those who are just completely at an arm's length away in understanding the process; and they may look at alpha one- the people who don't really understand the development process or haven't been a part of it- they may look at it and they may think oh you know this is trash, looks like trash, you know whatever it's the end-product. But at the end of the day what's important for us and what yields the best possible product is for us to include as much as possible the community in that development process with no NDA so that you guys give valuable feedback; and as we go through the iterative process in further defining the game and fleshing out that content were doing so with the player in mind and their voice in our ear. That is I think one of the key distinguishing factors between our development and many developments that you guys may have seen in the past. – Steven Sharif

Alpha-1 preview ancients mobs.

What this experience for Alpha one is going to be- that month-long experience- it is not intended to be a content experience... It is not intended to be a game experience. It is not intended to be a fully-fledged content experience. So keep that in mind. – Steven Sharif

Alpha-1 PvE combat.

Alpha-1 is a testing release of the Ashes of Creation MMORPG. Alpha-1 will test:

• World
  • The Alpha-1 map (Alpha island) consists of a mainland area and several islands. This was approximately 70 km² of playable area.
  • Alpha-1 takes place in the north west part of the map.

• Character
  • Progression to level 15.

    The composition of class skills or archetype skills has to tread a fine line between two roads: One we wanted to be representative of skills not just that would traditionally be found 1 through 15 but we're actually introducing some skills that might be found later, because we want to test those particular ideas and how the skill functions. – Steven Sharif

  • Character creator (basic).

• Archetypes
  • Cleric, Mage and Tank archetypes.
  • Ranger may be added later in Alpha-1.
  • Fighter, Bard, Rogue, and Summoner archetypes will follow in later in development (after Alpha-1).
  • Secondary archetypes will not be present in Alpha-1. These are planned for Alpha-2.

• Races
  • 4 playable races Kaelar, Vaelune, Dünir, Empyrean.

    A lot of times people ask well why haven't we seen the other races and stuff? We want to establish the quality bar and process with these races first and then when we move into further content production for the other races we have have those pipelines in place and we have the processes in place and we know how to approach them.

• Combat
  • Hybrid action/tab combat.
  • Revamped combat systems will be rolled out during and post Alpha-1 testing.

The weapon attack is an important component of the combat system, so we want to make sure that as we're doing this combat revamp that we are essentially taking into consideration player feedback and sentiment about how they want a reactive and more mobile weapon attack system. – Steven Sharif

• Nodes
  • Node advancement to Village (stage 3).
  • There are 9 node locations in Alpha-1.
  • Normally there would be 18-20 nodes in the same area.
  • A basic vassal system is in place.
  • The node ZOI's is larger than the final map.
  • Node locations are subject to change prior to Beta-1.

• Economy
  • The economy present in Alpha-1 is not reflective of the final state of the game.
  • Merchant systems and player to player trading.

    We have an economy but it's not really going to be reflective of the final how the economy is going to work. It'll work for alpha one and there'll be plenty of things to trade and buy and exchange, but it's not going to be really super representative what the final state is. So keep that in mind as well it's a stubbed-in system. It's not a complete or really finalized system at all. – Jeffrey Bard

  • Approximately 10 percent of the artisan system.
    • The core basics of the artisan gameplay loop is facilitated via the merchant (NPC) system.
  • Gathering, Processing, Crafting is expected to come online in Alpha-2 and the Betas.
  • Previously this was targeted for Alpha-1.

    What's present in Alpha-1 doesn't even really scratch the surface for crafting. – Steven Sharif

• Gear
  • Approximately 49 unique gear sets.
  • These are unique sets with different stats, but some may be similar in appearance.
  • Daggers (Dual weapons).

• PvE
  • Approximately 6 or 7 dungeons with one almost raid-level difficulty.
  • Two world bosses requiring party-sized groups.
  • One true 40 person raid boss.
  • Over 200 quests.
  • Questing is placeholder until Alpha-2.

• Guilds.
  • Alpha-1 castle sieges and Castles are in a zone accessible via a NPC teleporter.
  • This zone includes three Elder dragon raid bosses.
  • These bosses also appear in the open world (outside the siege zone) with slightly different mechanics.

• Naval content
• Ships for "island hopping".
  • Temporary teleportation points are present in early tests until ships are introduced later in the alpha testing.

• Other
  • There is no instancing in Alpha-1.
• UI and tutorial systems are placeholders until Alpha-2.

Some of the following information has not been recently confirmed by the developers and may not be on the current development roadmap.

• Social organizations.
• Portions of player housing.
• Corruption.
• Name reservations.

Alpha-2

Alpha-2 character creator user interface (first pass).

When we talk about Alpha-2's perspective, it's really focused around core systems and their ancillary counterparts. When we talk about what those core systems are, it's the siege systems; it's the guild war systems; it's the node advancements; it's the story arcs; it's the character class progression; it's the augments; it's our artisanship loops and the gathering, processing and crafting cycles; it's homeownership; it's vehicles and mounts; and any number of professions that exist there; and then also a big chunk of Alpha-2 is obviously content: The ability to ensure that the the hooks for these quest hubs within the nodes; the points-of-interest are stood up and reflective of the content necessary to facilitate that those story arcs; and commissions and buy orders. That's really the CORE of what we need to achieve in order to demonstrate the loops, collect feedback from those loops and the players who are play testing them; and then make iteration as necessary based off of the feedback we've received. – Steven Sharif

Alpha-2 character creator intro (first pass).

You may see whole systems come online at some different points throughout the Alpha-2 testing: Entirely new different areas; entirely new packages of narrative content and POIs. That is going to adhere to what our development schedule and release cadence will look like. – Steven Sharif

Ashes of Creation's core game systems are expected to be in place at the start of Alpha-2. By the end of Alpha-2, the game is expected to be feature complete, but it will not be content complete until launch. Alpha-2 will last until launch and will run in parallel with Beta-1 and Beta-2.

• World
  • Seasons and climates.
  • Events.
  • Story arcs.
  • Quests.
  • Points of interest.
  • Zones are expected to be around 60-70% complete before they are ready for Alpha-2.
    • Riverlands, Badlands, Sandsquall Desert, Tropics, Forest, Tabletop mountains, Tundra, Ocean.
  • The eastern continent may not be included until later in Alpha-2.

• Character
  • Character creator.
    • Some aspects of the character creator will not be present at the start of Alpha-2.
    • It was stated previously that the character creator would be provided to players before the release of Alpha-2.
  • Character progression up to level 35 (subject to change).
  • Some primary archetypes will be available at the beginning of Alpha-2, along with some secondary classes and augments.
    • Secondary selections will be released individually, rather than all at once.
  • Tulnar race.
  • Family summon mechanic.
  • Religions.
  • Mounts.

• Combat
  • Combat revamp.
    • Active and passive skills will be re-architected.
    • Primary skills are expected to be very different to those in Alpha-1.
    • Weapon skill trees will be present to augment the combo system.
  • Sieges.
  • Guild wars.

• Nodes
  • Node progression to City (stage 5) and potentially Metropolis (stage 6).
  • Relics and the Reliquary node building.
  • Player housing.
  • Crop rotations.

• Naval content.
  • Naval warfare.
  • Three ship classes.
  • Ships will have functioning cannons but the ship building UI may not be complete.

• Economy
  • Artisan classes (Gathering, Processing, Crafting).
    • Artisan gear sets.
    • Potential gameplay layers such as surveying and land management are being considered for gathering.
  • Auction houses.
  • Crates used to transport supplies between storage points and caravans.

• Other
  • Unreal Engine 5.
  • Some of Bear McCreary's music will be in Alpha-2.
  • User interface and tutorial systems.
  • Emblem, logo and symbol editor (tentatively).

Alpha-1 and Alpha-2 testers may be invited to participate in spot testing prior to the Alpha-2 release.

Alpha-2 is known as the persistent alpha.

Alpha-2 core features list.

Beta testing

The Beta-1 and Beta-2 testing phases of Ashes of Creation will be short.

• The game is intended to be feature-complete before Beta-1.
• Bear McCreary's music will be unveiled in Beta-1.
• Node types will be definitive (finalized).

The game should be pretty much done (at beta stage) and final polish and stuff like that being put in. We don't want people to get totally burnt out on the game before we actually release. So once we get to the beta phases it should be short and sweet. – Jeffrey Bard

Beta testing of Ashes of Creation (the MMORPG) will be closed.

Head start

Head start icon.

Head start grants early access one or two days prior to the live launch of Ashes of Creation for crowdfunding backers at the Founder level and above.

• Head start is a means to gradually ramp up the population to avoid player concurrency issues at launch.
• Head start will also be a way to address any last-minute launch or deployment issues.

The point of head start is twofold: One for testing, making sure that the live launch servers pre-wipe are good; and then Two, it's a way to stagger the population move into the game. Because if you have servers with 10,000 concurrent player capability and you have everyone logging in at the exact same time, that is a problem I've never seen an MMO tackle successfully, ever. – Steven Sharif

Headstart servers

The number of head start servers is estimated to be three. This is subject to change.

• There will be an OCE headstart server.

Headstart limitations

The game functionality is limited during the head start period so that players cannot decide the world-scape earlier than others.

• During the head start, the node system will be deactivated.
• Head start specific servers are also planned.
• It will not be possible to secure player housing during the headstart period due to the deactivation of the node system.

Head start was not a mistake, I tend to listen to my development team with regards to their vast past experiences in mmo launches and development. Advice from engineering on head starts was they are extremely desired in order to test any last minute launch/deployment issues that “always” happen. So I did as much as possible to mitigate the potential p2w elements/issues while still adhering to sound development principles. Including designating which servers are head start servers. So wanna make sure we don’t “chop” this one as a mistake or misstep. Everything done is done to ensure a quality launch/product. – Steven Sharif

NDA

• Alpha-1, Alpha-2, Beta-1, Beta-2 releases are not covered by NDA (non-disclosure agreement).
• Alpha-1 testing prior to the full release of Alpha-1 was covered by NDA.

Participation

• Alpha-0 had over 2,500 participants.
• Alpha-1 testing had approximately 9,600 participants as of August, 2018. There were slightly over 13k participants as of May 31, 2021. There were 5,300 unique logins during the 3 day weekend test of May 27, 2021.

• Alpha and Beta participation is expected to grow with the sale of pre-order packs.
• Alpha-2 is expected to have over 100,000 participants.
  • Previously Alpha-1 and Alpha-2 were expected to have 10,000 participants.

This section will be updated as soon as information is made available by the developers.

• Beta-1 and Beta-2 are expected to have 27,000 participants.

Server wipes

Alpha and Beta servers will be wiped prior to launch.

• Servers may be wiped between individual tests.

As a general rule, if the testing phase contains the word Alpha, it is safe to assume there will likely be wipes. – Steven Sharif

Milestones

December 2015	First team members were hired.
February 2016	Ashes of Creation design documentation and prototyping.
December 10, 2016	Official website was launched and project announced.
January 18, 2017	Official discord was launched.
May 2, 2017	Kickstarter crowdfunding campaign launched with $750,000 funding goal.
June 3, 2017	Kickstarter crowdfunding campaign completed with 19,576 backers raising $3,271,809.
June 2017	Game production began with a team size of 15-20.
June 21, 2017	Summer crowdfunding campaign launched.
July 22, 2017	Summer crowdfunding campaign completed with 2,485 backers.
September 1, 2017	PAX West 2017.
November 4, 2017	Raised $16,500 for Extra Life children's hospitals.
December 15, 2017	Alpha-0 released on schedule.
March 19-23, 2018	Game Developers Conference (GDC) 2018.
April 5, 2018	PAX East 2018.
August 15, 2018	Last day for purchases of Alpha-1 through Intrepid pre-order packs.
August 20, 2018	At Gamescom with My.com.
August 27, 2018	100 developers working on Ashes of Creation.
September 1, 2018	PAX West 2018 panel.
October 19, 2018	Ashes of Creation Apocalypse battle royale (previously called Alpha-1 phase 1 battlegrounds).
November 4, 2018	Raised $20,518 for Rady Children's hospital with Extra Life.
April 15, 2019	60 developers working on Ashes of Creation at San Diego offices (following disengagement with Malaysian art team).
November 3, 2019	Raised $20,901 for Rady Children's hospital with Extra Life.
August 21, 2020	Announced a mutual parting of ways with publisher My.games.
October 17, 2020	Almost 3,000,000 registered accounts for Ashes of Creation.
October 17, 2020	~87 developers working on Ashes of Creation.
November 8, 2020	Raised $88,546 for Rady Children's hospital with Extra Life.
February 26, 2021	Official ashesofcreation.com website redesign.
May 5, 2021	Alpha-1 sales resumed with the announcement of the Adventurer pre-order pack.
May 17, 2021	Verbal NDA was lifted from Alpha-1 testing.
July 9, 2021	Alpha-1 no-NDA preview weekend began on schedule.
July 11, 2021	Alpha-1 no-NDA preview weekend completed on schedule.
July 14, 2021	Alpha-1 no-NDA month long test began on schedule.
August 15, 2021	Alpha-1 no-NDA month long test completed on schedule.
November 7, 2021	Raised $34,485 for Rady Children's hospital with Extra Life.
December 23, 2021	Announced that Ashes of Creation is moving to Unreal Engine 5.
January 14, 2022	Over 120 people working on Ashes of Creation.
November 5, 2022	Raised $77,939 for Rady Children's hospital with Extra Life.

Accomplishments

• Kickstarter's most funded MMORPG.
• Kickstarter's #7 most funded video game.
• Most anticipated MMO – MMORPG.com's Best of 2017 Awards.
• Most anticipated early access hands-on MMORPG – MMOs World.
• Gamescom 2018: Best Independent game.
• Gamescom 2018: Best Online game.
• Best indie MMO of 2020 – massivelyop.com reader's poll.
• Most anticipated MMO of 2021 and beyond – massivelyop.com reader's poll.
• Top 10 Best Upcoming New MMORPGs For 2021 And Beyond – Forbes.
• 2022 Best MMO Studio – MMOGames.

See also

• Alpha-1
• Milestones
• Ashes of Creation